Because it's win-win for both sides. The Public gets a cash infusion from Disney for their community outreach program and Disney gets a relatively low cost way to get the material on its feet and see what they have. HERCULES wasn't the blockbuster that some of their other film to Broadway transfers were and hasn't really reached the realm of modern day classic, so it makes sense that they don't have the confidence in the material that they had with ALADDIN or most of the others. Normally, the first audiences for something like this would be at the first performances of the out-of-town pre-Broadway run. But, by that point, it will be very expensive to make any real, substantive changes to the material, even if tangible issues emerge. The days of rewriting half the show in six weeks while you're out of town are now, sadly, gone.
So this run at the Delacorte gives Disney an opportunity to see what they have and what needs to happen before the next stage of development. And the Public gets to have their valuable program underwritten largely, if not entirely, by Disney. |
